Recycle Halloween Candy Wrappers into Colorful Eco-Jewelry

Now that Halloween is over and you’ve filled up on sugary sweets, a ghoulish pile of non-recyclable candy wrappers remains to haunt you. Here’s a trick for bringing your dearly departed treats back from the dead: Turn the discarded plastic packaging into wearable gems. With a little bit of tracing and cutting, you’ll have brand-new, low-cost beads that will last you long after your sugar buzz is gone. Click below the fold to learn how.

MATERIALS

1. Download and cut out the bead template. Trace onto your candy wrapper with your marker and cut. Wipe away any marker left on the wrapper.Tip: If you’re candy wrappers are too short for the template, you can always tape them together to make them longer.

2. Place the cut candy strip onto a flat surface with the printed side face down. Lay your toothpick on the widest end and roll it up.

3. Cut tiny little pieces of tape to about 0.5×0.25 inches. Use one of these pieces to secure the end of the rolled bead.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 to make as many beads as you’d like. Then use the beads to create your own jewelry. To make a simple necklace or bracelet, string the beads onto stretchy cord. Good lengths for a necklace and bracelet are 16 inches and 6 inches, respectively. You can also add little seed beads in between the wrapper beads for extra glitz or try your hand at a candy wrapper cuff style bracelet.

Looking for other things to do with your candy wrappers? Sign up for TerraCycle’s candy-wrapper brigade. Collect and send in your wrappers, and earn money for your favorite nonprofit.